


Reflection

by KoibitoDream



Series: TsukkiKage week 2016 [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Gen, Happy Ending, M/M, Mirrors, Sad with a Happy Ending, grand king oikawa, mentions of past tragedy, tsukkikage week 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-28
Updated: 2016-11-28
Packaged: 2018-09-02 19:31:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8680612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KoibitoDream/pseuds/KoibitoDream
Summary: A curious thing, fate can be.





	

**Author's Note:**

> DAY 3 (November 28th) : Fairytale / Apocalypse

_Mirror, mirror..._

_How long has it been?_

_Since the sound of a living creature graced those walls?_

_Since the whisper of the wind could be heard?_

_Since the light could reach?_

_Not a soul has stepped in since a time long past. Those who swore to keep it hidden from the world ceased to exist. Those who sought its image have diminished as well. No one eager to fall into madness. To gaze upon a image that will never be. To gaze upon an image that never should have been. No one to offer their hopes and dreams, their very lives to it. Bound by the darkness in their own minds, no one was left to offer it their souls. No one walks within the cold walls, silence has seeped into the very fabric of its existence._

_Wrapped tight in veil once, it began to slip away. Time ate at it, as it did with all things._

_But wait._

_There is movement again, between these abandoned walls._

_It is in luck._

_Not long now..._

_There is a soul that it's desperate to have..._

_It brought one Kingdom to ruin, what was another?_

 

* * *

 

 

“Tobio”, a deep calm voice calls out to a child, staring at something in the distance as the falling snow picks up, “come inside, Tobio. It's getting dark.”

The child blinks, turning to the tall man standing behind him. He nods and runs over to him. A much larger hand than his own takes his and it's warm. He feels safe in his presence.

“Can I play outside tomorrow again, Oikawa-san?” He asks, looking up at him as they walk through the garden.

“We shall see.” Oikawa says, smiling at him. “If it's not too cold, you can play outside tomorrow again.”

“Where's Hajime-papa?”

“Hajime-papa is out on patrol this evening. He'll come home as soon as he finishes.”

Blue eyes blink, confused.

“What is a partol?”

“A patrol, Tobio. It's when you walk around and check how things are.”

“Like you do in the corridors when a meeting ends?”

“Something like that.” Oikawa laughs as they reach the doors. “How are your feet?”

“Wet.” The four year old child says.

Oikawa arches a brow as he picks him up in his arms.

“Then we need to get you into something dry quickly before you catch a cold so Hajime-papa doesn't kill me.”

“Hajime-papa would never kill you, Oikawa-san, he likes you very much.” Tobio pouts slightly. What a stupid thing to say.

“Yes, but Hajime-papa left you in my care and he'll be angry with me if I don't make sure you are safe and healthy. So what do you do when you have wet feet?”

“Take a bath and warm up.”

“And?”

“I get warm milk.”

“How about we do all that right now?”

“How?”

“Hm? What do you mean, how?”

“Hajime-papa says you should stay away from the kitchen.”

“Hajime-papa speaks too much.” Oikawa smiles at the child, sweetly. “I can at least make a glass of warm milk.”

They soon reach Tobio's room and Oikawa puts him down.

“Go pick something to wear, I'll be right back.”

The child wastes no time and hurries to the wardrobe. Oikawa leaves him to pick out an outfit as he heads to the study, down the stairs. A group of captains await him as he enters.

“Your majesty, the report.” One of the captains say, leaving a stack of papers on his desk.

“How is it?” Oikawa asks, picking up the first one from the top, skimming over it.

“It's a little early this year, but the pass froze up for the season so we expect little trouble there.”

“Excellent. Make preparations for the winter and start the Winter Watch.”

“Yes, your majesty.”

“Anything else?”

“No, that is all.”

“Then you are all dismissed.”

The captains bow and leave the room. Oikawa scowls at the amount of papers on his desk he'll have to look over by the end of the week. What a drag. Nothing he can do about it, though. The northern border has always been a troublesome one. If nothing else, he should be grateful the tensions died down a bit before he came to the throne.

Leaving troublesome things behind, he leaves the papers where they are and returns to Tobio's room to find him wrapped into what must be half his wardrobe.

“Oh, my...” Oikawa sighs, “are you planning on wearing all of that?”

“No, I'm not.” Tobio replies, pulling another garment out. “I can't reach what I want.”

“Oh, so that's why half your stuff lies around.” The older man smiles, amused as he steps into the room.

“You can ask for help if you need it, Tobio.” He says as he reaches for that one outfit Tobio wants and hands it to him. “It's quicker, easier and it can save you a lot of time. It also saves you from this mess.”

“But you were busy!” Tobio exclaims.

“That's true. But, there are other people around.”

“They are busy, too.”

“No one here is too busy to help you out, Tobio.” Oikawa pats his head. “It's okay if you rely on people more, they are here for you.”

“ _...people don't say that..._ ” Tobio mumbles, holding the shirt and pants close to him.

“Oh?” Oikawa narrows his eyes a bit. “What do they say?”

The child doesn't say anything but doesn't look Oikawa in the eyes either.

“It's okay, Tobio, you can tell me.” Oikawa says in a softer tone.

“Promise that no one is going to get in trouble?” He asks in a small voice that makes Oikawa's heart swell.

“...I promise.” He says as he holds out a pinky finger. Tobio stares at it for a moment before taking it with his own.

“People say I shouldn't be here.” He says. “At all. They say I only mean trouble for you and Hajime-papa.”

“Do they now?” Oikawa reaches out to brush his hair to the side. “Well, that's unfortunate because that's not true at all.”

“...really?”

“Yes, really. You, Tobio, are our precious boy and you are never trouble. Those people are blind if they can't see that.”

“And one day, when I'm not around, you'll take care of everyone here.”

“But you'll always be around.” Tobio says, confusion evident on him. “I saw it yesterday.”

“You saw it?” Oikawa blinks at him.

Tobio nods eagerly.

“Where did you see that?”

“The big mirror in the big room in the garden.”

Oikawa feels a cold chill prickling all the way through his veins.

“A big mirror? In the garden? The one that's hanging on the wall behind the doors guarded by two lions and a crow?”

“And the crow has a bell!”

“...yes, the crow has a bell...” Oikawa repeats, studying the child.

“...did I do something wrong?” The child asks, noticing how silent he became.

“No, no.” Oikawa quickly brightens. “It's just that the mirror is very old and unstable. Will you promise no to go there alone?”

“I promise.”

“Thank you.” The older man says, visibly relieved. Tobio sneezes.

“We should hurry and get you into that bath, Tobio.”

A bath, two changes of clothes, and second glass of warm milk because the first one burnt a little, later, Tobio was fast asleep, tucked in and story read.

Oikawa then made his way to the library connected with his study, carefully taking out a heavy book from one of the shelves. What he finds written in those pages regarding the matter of his interest is scarce but enough to have him worried. He'll have to talk to Iwaizumi about it.

“Welcome back.” He says softly, in the wee hours of the morning as Iwaizumi Hajime comes back from his patrol, standing in the doorway to Iwaizumi's room.

“Good to be back.” He replies, taking of his cape.

“What has you up so late?” He asks, taking off the rest of the captain regalia before he can breathe a bit easier. Oikawa has him in a hug in a matter of seconds.

“...Tooru?”

“...we need to talk about Tobio.” Oikawa says as he lets go of him.

“What about Tobio?” He asks, wearily.

“He's seen it.”

“Seen what?”

“The mirror.”

The grip on Oikawa's arms tightens as Iwaizumi stares at him.

“...what did he see?”

Oikawa purses his lips together.

“Oikawa Tooru”, Iwaizumi says, tone leaving no room for discussion, “what did he see?”

“I don't know exactly.” He mutters. “Something about me always being there when I told him that he was going to take over the crown one day.”

Iwaizumi loosens his grip on him, a bit relieved, but still confused.

“...what could that mean?”

Oikawa shakes his head. He doesn't know. It's been at least a few hundred years since anyone looked at that mirror without going insane. It could mean a lot and nothing. It's been at least twice that long since anyone knew anything concrete about the mirror, as well. All he has been told was that no one should go near it and to keep it under a veil. But if Tobio saw it... He'll need to ask him about it in the morning.

“Hajime, has he ever shown any affinity towards magic?”

“Not that I know of, no. How would I even tell?”

Iwaizumi had a few sorcerers under his command, he's informed about what they can do, how some types of magic go, but that's the end of it. He doesn't know how to tell if someone has a skill in the arts. There were people who were tasked to find out, but he's never heard of anyone that young posses it. _They_ are rigorous and unrelenting in their calling – he's not about to submit the four-year-old to something like that.

“Hajime, we need to take him-”

“Tooru, no.”

“But-”

“He's still a child, Tooru, that's out of the question.”

“Don't be unreasonable. If he can look at that thing and be okay, we need to bring him there as soon as possible. You know what unchecked magic can do to people.”

Yes. He knows. He's witnessed a few cases himself.

“He's of their blood. You can't deny that. No one can.” Oikawa says softly.

No, he can't deny it, but...

“Either way, he's still only a four year old. I'm not sending him to that place until he's older if I can help it.” Iwaizumi states, tone final. “Call for the Crows instead.”

Another opinion on this matter can't hurt.

“And if they say the same?” Oikawa asks.

“Then he'll go. But not a moment sooner.” He lets go of Oikawa, heading towards the door.

“Where is he?”

“He's asleep.”

“I'll go see him.”

“Alright.”

Oikawa sits down on the bed, sighing deeply. He knows how protective Iwaizumi is when it comes to Tobio, but this time around, if the Crows confirm it, he'll have to let go. It's not just them, it's for Tobio's sake as well. But, as it is, Iwaizumi's just too guilt ridden when it comes to him.

Oikawa can't say he doesn't understand.

Understanding, however, won't help them in this matter.

He finds him next to the sleeping child, patting his hair gently.

“ _...why is that thing even here?_ ” He mutters, softly.

“ _...I don't know._ ”

It didn't even matter, in the end, it was their duty to see to it that the mirror doesn't do any harm.

_Though, as all things connected with power, it's just been around for too long._

 

* * *

 

 

The next morning, Iwaizumi comes down into the study, only to find one of the black adorned Crows holding Tobio's hand for a moment before the child goes back to his studies. Damn it, Oikawa. Though, he can't have a word with him now. Dealing with the affairs of the state suddenly became top priority.

“Pardon my intrusion, but I could not help myself.” He speaks, revealing white hair and a pair of warm eyes as he removes his hood. “I am Sugawara of the Crows. Word has reached us of this little one.”

More like Oikawa pulled a fast one on him. Oh, they'll definitely share a few words.

“You're fast.”

Sugawara smiles.

“We have to be.”

Not exactly how Iwaizumi pictured this going, but it seemed the matter was more pressing than he thought.

“So how does this thing go?” He asks, offering the man a seat, really not ready for it.

“Oh, we're done.” The Crow says, tone light.

“...what?”

“Tobio-kun here was kind enough to let me see what he saw. Indeed, he did see the mirror but it showed him nothing more that the image of a happy family. You can relax, Iwaizumi-san.”

“...I don't understand.”

“There is none left that does.” Sugawara says, leaning back into the chair he sat on. “Even we only know what little remained to know about that mirror. It is peculiar. Though, I am grateful the child was spared.”

“...why would it do such a thing?” Iwaizumi lets it slip before he can stop himself.

“...who knows. When something is around for such a long time, it tends to start thinking for itself. I do not know what lies lurking beneath the surface or what images can be found, but I would suggest one thing.”

“Yes?”

“He will need training.” Sugawara glances Tobio, immersed into rehearsing his letters, before his attention is back on Iwaizumi again. “He's showing a strong affinity towards magic – he knew I was here before I could show myself. I can offer my assistance with my fellow Crows if you wish. I do not think you'd be ready to send him to that place at this young of an age.”

“You are right.”

“Will we have your blessing to teach him?”

“If he stays safe.”

“But of course.”

Tobio lifts his head from the papers, tilting his head at something behind Iwaizumi but before the man can react, there's a rune drawing itself on the wall. The last line of the circle connects and a curly haired man peeks out from the portal, looking rather bored, before his gaze falls on the child looking quite curiously at him.

“So this is the one who saw the mirror...” He says, arching a brow.

“Aren't you a little bit young to be peeking into a very dangerous object that should be sealed away?”

His answer: a shrug of the child's shoulders and he's looking back into his book, copying the letter R.

...nice to know he's the honest type. Should save him a lot of trouble.

“Sakusa-san...” Sugawara chimes in. “What did we say about opening portals into the royal residence without permission?”

“They need our help so it's fine.” The man blinks as he steps in, the portal closing behind him.

Iwaizumi arches a brow but can't argue with that. As long as they give a nice warning beforehand as to where exactly are they going to show up, he doesn't really care. Keeping Tobio safe is more important.

“This is Sakusa Kiyoomi.” Sugawara says, looking quite done. “He's a bit straightforward, but quite skilled. He'll be teaching him protection spells and how to shield his mind.”

The raven haired man doesn't listen but instead extends his hand to the child on the opposite side of the room to help him out with the cursive R.

And suddenly, there are two kids – one toddler and one aloof teen with a knack for dealing with kids.

“He's not a Crow per say, but one of the Watchers.”

“...the Watchers teach people, too?” Iwaizumi looks at Sugawara curiously.

“No, but this is an exceptional case. Worry not, Tobio-kun will not be required to join in the ranks of either unless he so wishes.”

Well, that is nice to hear.

“Say, Tobio...” Sakusa begins, scribbling down a few R's on the paper. “Did you see the whole mirror or just a part of it?”

“There was a corner visible. Not much, but I could see Oikawa-san and Hajime-papa in it.”

“That's nice.”

“Did I cause trouble for them?” He asks in a quiet tone. Sakusa blinks at him.

“Here's how it goes. Once upon a time, that mirror did bad things to people who would look at it. So people started fearing it. Once they were frightened enough, they tore it down from where it once stood, in the Silent Halls of the North, and brought it back here, to one of Oikawa's ancestors to seal it away. They did that and ever since then whoever succeeds the crown takes on the responsibility to make sure that mirror is under lock. However, over time, people began to forget why they did some things and how. That is not good. So, you wandering in and discovering it was a good thing, because we now know the state in which it is and we can begin looking into how to make sure it stays sealed.”

“But how can an object be bad?” Tobio asks then. “A mirror can't be bad if the person using it isn't, right?”

“Sometimes, people create things with good intentions but over time, those intentions can be lost and then bad people use those things for bad deeds and if one uses the thing in a certain way long enough, it can happen that it becomes so itself.”

“I don't think the mirror is bad.” The four year old says. “I think it's just sad.”

“How so?”

“...it felt that way.”

Oh? Now that is interesting.

“...will I have to go away?” Tobio lifts his gaze from the wobbly R under his pen to look up at Sakusa, who stares right back at him.

“No. Your parent gave us permission to teach you at home, you won't have to go away. Save maybe a trip or two.”

“Teach me what?”

_“How to make your parents proud.”_

 

* * *

 

 

_It's well past his bed time, but the ten year old could not sleep. He hadn't told his teachers, nor his parents, nor Sakusa-senpai, but sometimes, he could hear the faint chime of a bell. How he recognised it as the bell that the crow above the heavy doors has in its claws, he knows not. He tried to ignore it, but it only followed him into his dreams._

_The same presence he felt when he was four. It was coming from the Mirror._

_He knew he should stay away from it, he's been told countless times, but this time, he cannot ignore it._

_So, as quietly as he can muster, he leaves his room._

_The palace is so quiet this time of the night. So different from day time when many people bustle around, all having something to do. He has no trouble seeing, the moon is almost full, high in the sky, illuminating the hallway he walks through, the main stairs he goes down and the soft grass he steps on, barefooted, on his way to the heavy doors guarded by two lions and a crow with a bell._

_He's never heard it chime. Other that the distant sound. No one else seems to hear it when he does, a soft sound carried by the wind._

_Then again, he had been told he could sense things others simply couldn't._

_The doors open, soundless, as he steps onto the cold stone of the first step, sending a shiver up his spine, but not of the stairs underneath his feet but the sense of loneliness that seems to pool inside, like it's the bottom of the sea._

_He heard the stories about the Mirror sealed in the gardens. He read about them, too._

_Still, he couldn't be convinced into something else than what he told Sakusa when they first met._

_More of the Mirror is now revealed – the veil covering it was barely there and no one was left who knew the old ways of dealing with it._

_People complained that approaching it would make your blood freeze in your veins and impair your movement, making it heavy to breathe – Tobio had no such problems. He walked up to it as easily as he did to anything else in the palace._

_Drawn in by it._

_Moonlight spilled in from the top, not reaching the mirror itself, but enough to make it seem like the surface of the sea._

“ _...you've always been reckless...” Tobio hears a voice, stopping him from touching the surface._

“ _...don't touch the surface...you'll get drawn into it...”_

“ _...aren't you lonely all by yourself?” Tobio asks, opting to sit down in front of the mirror as he pulls his hand back._

“ _...not with you here.”_

“ _I'm not always here, you know?”_

“ _...”_

“ _What happened to you?”_

“ _...that is something you don't want to remember.”_

“ _What did I forget?”_

“ _...how I got here in the first place.”_

 

_It is a horrible curse they devised._

_He shouldn't have been so arrogant. Had he just once listened to his majesty on that subject, they would have not murdered him in cold blood just to get rid of his subject, using royal blood as a means of a seal._

_It was perfect in how cruel it was._

_The natural laws of their world were simple enough. With what you bind and seal, you unlock and set free. People whose souls are bound always find a way to meet._

_But not if one soul remains trapped and the body never dies._

_Or so the written laws stated._

_They were fools, in the end._

_Their curse only served as their downfall, for he had gained unparalleled power over them. Showing them their deepest thoughts, driving one after another into madness. Those bound by the soul cannot be separated. That was the law. The only law. Their tempering with it brought the worlds into an imbalance, giving him the power to search for him on his own._

_In the end, it was their madness that locked him in._

 

* * *

 

 

“Your majesty!” One of the captains hurries to the King on his way from yet another meeting.

“Speak.” Oikawa says, hurrying down the hall, crown almost falling of his head. So much to do, so little time. Why did he agree to be the mediator between two hot headed sovereigns? Now, when his son was to return after almost a year of absence? Letters were fine, but nothing beats seeing him in person after so long.

“...there has been-” The man begins but is interrupted by the sound of a faint chime.

“...oh, no...” Oikawa mutters, paling.

He rushes out to the first balcony overlooking the garden where the little sanctuary stood. What was going on? The Mirror was silent for the past seventeen years, save that one time Tobio-

 _Tobio_ , Oikawa realises in horror, turning to the man standing behind him.

“What happened to him?!” He demands.

“...there's been a accident.” The man states. “He's-”

“Go get Iwaizumi. Now.”

“Yes, sire.”

 

* * *

 

 

_The 17 year old crown prince stands nervously by the curtains separating him from the rest of the ballroom. He didn't like them. Too many people in one room. It gave him a headache._

_Especially tonight._

_Strangers asking personal things._

_Never in his life was he grateful for the fact that they had him train under Sakusa-senpai as he was that particular evening._

_Oikawa and Iwaizumi were busy during the evening. Sakusa-senpai had urgent matters to attend to. Hinata and Yamaguchi choose that one evening to fall ill out of all the days in the year. Even Ushijima-san had been dragged off somewhere._

_He needed air._

_Disappearing right under someone's nose was a neat little trick Sakusa-senpai had taught him._

“ _Now, now, your majesty.” He hears someone say behind him as they grab him by the arm. “It's not polite to disappear like that.”_

“ _Let go of me.” He says, but the grip on his arm is stronger than he anticipated._

“ _And let you disappear again? I don't think so.”_

“ _Let. Go.” He really didn't want to deal with alcohol induced bravado of the nobility he knew for a fact disliked him. Put mildly. Especially when they came from the loudest ranks to speak their opinions._

“ _Or what?”_

_A faint chime in the wind._

_The next thing Tobio is aware of is waking up to a panicked Oikawa._

“ _...what is going on?” He asks, trying to get up but is gently pushed back on the grass._

“ _Take it easy.” Sakusa says._

“ _Sakusa-senpai, I'm fine.”_

“ _Which I can't say for that one over there...”_

“ _...what?”_

“ _He fainted.” Oikawa says._

“ _The mirror in the ballroom broke.” Sakusa explains. “Caught a glimpse of that one acting smart and the doors opening. The Mirror is quite fond of you.” He adds the last bit quiet enough for Oikawa not to hear._

“ _...I-”_

“ _You have quite the talent with something utterly destroying people's minds in the past. I'm proud of you.”_

 

* * *

 

 

“ _Have I not told you, time and time again, not to look into that?_ ” He speaks, closing the wound he once failed to. Centuries upon centuries passed and he was still an idiot. To look up a way to remember what time had erased. To reopen a wound that once killed him. Only to break the nightmare they fell into.

“ _Really, your majesty, that stubbornness of yours..._ ”

He's heard this voice before.

 

_Only, those times, it was through a reflection._


End file.
